Future Weighs Heavy On Mavs, Heat

[duncan228]

Future weighs heavy on Mavs, Heat (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_mannix/09/09/mailbag/index.html?eref=T1)
Chris Mannix
SI.com

September is by far the dullest month on the NBA calendar. It's the time of year when most contracts have been signed, most trades have been made and every team, from the Lakers to the Nets, is expressing optimism about the upcoming season. But when I survey the landscape, I see several teams with serious issues going into training camp. In no particular order, here are my top three:

1. Dallas -- Remember 2003-04, when Don Nelson and Mark Cuban collaborated to assemble a team of skilled players without regard for position or fit? When the Mavericks brought in two longtime starting power forwards in Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker to play in a frontcourt that already had Dirk Nowitzki entrenched at the position? That Dallas team won 52 games, finished third in its division and was wiped out in the first round by Sacramento.

The reason I bring up the '03-04 team is because the '09-10 club feels a lot like it. First, Dallas grossly overpaid for 30-year-old small forward Shawn Marion ($39 million over five years), which could force Josh Howard to shooting guard (a position he has rarely played in his six-year career) and eventually eat into Howard's and Jason Terry's minutes. Considering the Mavs were 33-15 when Howard played 22 minutes or more last season and Terry is the reigning Sixth Man Award winner, that is probably not a good thing. On top of that, Dallas brought in another longtime starter, Drew Gooden, to backup Nowitzki and Marion and (in theory) play a few minutes at center. The Mavs are too talented not to win 50-plus games, but they are nowhere near good enough to compete for the Western Conference title.

2. New York -- I liked the Knicks' offseason. Mike D'Antoni will get more out of Darko Milicic than any other coach, and Jordan Hill will excel in the pick-and-roll offense. But I'm a little confused; who is going to pass them the ball? Chris Duhon? Duhon is a nice player who gave them a Herculean effort last season, but his best role is as a backup. His numbers plummeted from January (14.1 points, 7.1 assists) to March (8.1, 5.4) as the wear and tear from the heavy workload (career-high 36.8 minutes per game) began to set in.

New York did nothing to address the point guard problem, save for getting Toney Douglas (who is more of a combo guard) in the draft and bringing Joe Crawford (more of a scoring guard) to camp. The Knicks didn't want to make a long-term commitment to 23-year-old Ramon Sessions, and they whiffed on Ricky Rubio. It says here that Rubio's first NBA jersey will be a Knicks one -- New York is the only team with the marketing possibilities that could persuade Rubio to come over in 2011 rather than '12 -- but someone has to run the show in the meantime. And right now they have nobody to do it.

3. Miami -- Dwyane Wade led the NBA in scoring last season. I'm sure he would like to do that again. He also led the league in field goal attempts. I'm equally sure he would not want to do that again. It's a big year in Miami. Wade needs some help, and if he doesn't get it, he may choose to take his high-wire act elsewhere next season. That puts a lot of pressure on Jermaine O'Neal (who told me at the end of last season that he would return to All-Star form this year), Michael Beasley (who needs to get his head on straight) and, to a lesser extent, Daequan Cook, Dorell Wright and Mario Chalmers. These guys need to make sure every night isn't the Wade show.

This season will also shine a spotlight on Pat Riley. If the Heat play a .500 November and look sluggish in December, Riley needs to pull the trigger on a blockbuster deal. Maybe that's Carlos Boozer, maybe it's Tracy McGrady, maybe it's Amar'e Stoudemire. But one way or another Riley has to make sure that '09-10 is not another one-and-done playoff season.

[Red Hawk #21]

sons dorrell wright is still in the league?

[Ghazi]

"grossly" overpaid for Shawn Marion? give me a break

Nowhere NEAR good enough to compete for a WC title? give me a break again!

Adding Marion may force a drop in Terry/Howard's minutes, but it eats up minutes that were played by Antoine WRight last year. It is a huge upgrade on paper IMO when instead of Terry/Howard/Wright occupying 2/3 minutes you have Terry/Howard/Marion...

I also think adding Marion puts Howard/Terry in more comfortable roles. Terry isn't good enough to be a #2 option, neither is Howard. Neither is Marion for that matter, but when you have the responsibilities distributed amongst 3 good players instead of 2 it's the next best thing.

We love our guys in blue!

[Culburn369]

I also think adding Marion puts Howard/Terry in more comfortable roles. Terry isn't good enough to be a #2 option, neither is Howard. Neither is Marion for that matter, but when you have the responsibilities distributed amongst 3 good players instead of 2 it's the next best thing.

Christ, Ghazi, you're posting out of your mind! Matzel, matzel, good things!

[Shank]

These are all written under the assumption that all the teams listed are finished making moves. In the case of the Mavs, this isn't true. They have to move some guys out, in some way, before the season starts.

[sribb43]

I guess this guy was a Wright, George, and Stack fan...

[Dirkgreatness]

SI.com And The Mavs: Copping A 'Feel'
Mag Thinks Dallas Has 'Serious Problems.' We're Here To Help
By Mike Fisher -- DB.com

They haven’t played a game. They haven’t even had a practice. Yet somehow, Sports Illustrated already has a “feel’’ for the 2009-10 Dallas Mavericks. The “feel’’ is a bad one: That Dallas is one of the three teams with the most “serious issues going into training camp.’’ SI.com invokes the name of Antoine Walker here, compares this year’s team to the out-of-synch squad of six seasons ago, and is somehow suggesting that these Mavs have too much talent to be any good.
Yes. You read that right. SI.com has more to say on the matter. And as is my wont, so do I …
SI.com: Remember 2003-04 … when the Mavericks brought in two longtime starting power forwards in Antawn Jamison and Antoine Walker to play in a frontcourt that already had Dirk Nowitzki entrenched at the position? That Dallas team won 52 games, finished third in its division and was wiped out in the first round by Sacramento.
Yes, I remember. I remember the Kings being better than those Mavs. I remember the team seeming disjointed. I remember Hefty Bag uniforms. I remember kind of blaming Antoine Walker … even for the uniforms.
But … I also remember that winning 52 games was fun. I remember that the organization was vigorously trying to supplement Dirk, Nash and Finley. And I remember that the logjam SI.com is suggesting was present on the roster wasn’t the problem.
In fact, I remember that Dirk was All-NBA third-team that year. (That would be his fourth time on the honors team; the next season, he's be All-NBA First Team.) I remember that Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels were both All-Rookie second-teamers. I remember that Antawn Jamison was terrific, was the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, and was rewarded for his unselfishness with a trade to Washington, a trade that netted Dallas a couple of guys named Devin Harris and Jerry Stackhouse. And then I remember Walker being jettisoned to Atlanta in exchange for a guy named Jason Terry.
And ultimately I remember that 16 months later the Mavs began a season that would end with a Western Conference title and an NBA Finals appearance.
So, SI.com, yeah, I remember it all. What’s your point?
SI.com: The reason I bring up the '03-04 team is because the '09-10 club feels a lot like it.
I’m a little sketchy, SI.com, on how you already have a “feel’’ for a team that hasn’t even practiced together yet. But please go on …
SI.com: First, Dallas grossly overpaid for 30-year-old small forward Shawn Marion ($39 million over five years).
Well, SI.com, if by “overpaid’’ you mean that we should better compensate schoolteachers and firemen, yeah, Shawn Marion is “overpaid.’’ But if you mean “overpaid’’ by NBA standards, SI.com, you haven’t the slightest idea what you are talking about.
I'm going to keep pounding away on this issue until it goes away because the only this "gross'' about this is how The Telephone Game allows writers to continue to regurgitate each others' untruths.
My understanding of Marion’s five-year deal is that it breaks down thusly:
Marion’s annual salaries: $6.6 mil, $7.3 mil, $7.9 mil, $8.6 mil and $9.3 mil. The total is $39 mil. The average over five years is $8 mil.
Is that "overpaid'' compared to what Marion previously was paid? Nope. Last year Marion made $17.8 mil.
Is that overpaid compared to the two guys Dallas flirted with acquiring, Shawn Jefferson and Vince Carter, before settling in with Marion? Nope. Jefferson has two years left on a contract that averages $14.5 mil a year. Carter has three years left on a contract that pays him an average of $17.5 mil a year.
And before Toronto acquired Hedo, the Raptors planned on retaining Marion with an offer of four years and $32-to-$34 mil -- EXACTLY the annual average he ended up getting from the Mavs.
So Marion is not "overpaid'' compared to what he made last year, he's not "overpaid'' compared to what Toronto had offered him, he's not "overpaid'' by league standards for a four-time All-Star and in fact compared to contemporary financial measuring sticks Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter, he's UNDERPAID BY HALF.
Somebody please find me ANY evidence that Shawn Marion is overpaid. ... besides the fact that one guy wrote it once and now everyone else just keeps writing it.
SI.com: (Marion’s acquisition) could force Josh Howard to shooting guard (a position he has rarely played in his six-year career).
Good thing this is like hand grenades, SI.com, because on both those takes, you are close. J-Ho to the 2-guard isn’t much of a “maybe.’’ It’s a foregone conclusion, it’s the plan, and while you seem worried about it enough to speculate, we’ve spoken to Jason Kidd about it, we’ve spoken to Donnie Nelson about it, we’ve spoken to Jason Terry about it, and we’ve spoken to Josh Howard himself about it.
Hey, SI.com, since you are interested enough in the subject to guess at insights, I bet you’d be interested enough to hear some from Howard himself, eh?
“I don’t mind at all,’’ Howard says of the probable position move to the 2-guard. “Anything I can do to help my team.’’
SI.com: (Marion’s acquisition will) eventually eat into Howard's and Jason Terry's minutes. … that is probably not a good thing.
So what you are saying, SI.com, is that the Mavs SHOULDN’T add better player and more players? Personally, I think it’s highly unlikely that Howard’s minutes are impacted at all by Marion’s presence. And if Jet’s minutes are cut down slightly because the Mavs want bigger people and better defenders on the wing in some situations, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
Terry loves his role as the sixth man. As he reminded me the other day, he did it in college at Arizona and it resulted in a championship. So there's no ego problem here. Jet knows he'll be on the floor to finish games (along with Marion and Howard). And minutes? In his five seasons here, his mpg have been as high as 35 and as low as 30. Who wants to bet this season he'll be in that range again?
Really, though, if the Mavs have actually acquired somebody gifted enough to “beat out’’ Jason Terry for a few minutes per game, how is that a bad thing?
SI.com: On top of that, Dallas brought in another longtime starter, Drew Gooden, to backup Nowitzki and Marion and (in theory) play a few minutes at center.
Aw, now you’re just reaching. You are trying to say that because Gooden has been a starter in the NBA for the bulk of his career, that makes him a bad signing? That instead they should sign people who AREN’T capable of being NBA starters? Hey, SI.com, Dallas has done that, too. Maybe you should do a story on Nathan Jawai! He won't start here. Would that be better?
SI.com: The Mavs are too talented not to win 50-plus games, but they are nowhere near good enough to compete for the Western Conference title.
So what you are saying, SI.com, is that the Mavs were a 50-win team last year and have more talent this year but … you like them LESS. … BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE TALENT?!
Is that what you are saying, SI.com?
Because you lost me -- and, in this one instance, your credibility -- at "Antoine Walker.''

[hater]

LOL Dallas